Rafael Nadal has confirmed he and his wife Xisca Perello are having their first baby, as well as that he will play Wimbledon this year after fears he may not regain fitness after the French Open. 

Rumors have swirled for some weeks that the Australian and French Open champion and Perello were expecting their first child.


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It was reported last week that Perello was pregnant by the Spanish gossip magazine Hola!, with Nadal confirming the couple’s happy news in a press conference on Friday.


The 22-time grand slam champion has said in the past that starting a family will come after he retires, only increasing speculation this could be the 36-year-old final season on tour.


When speaking to the press on Friday, Nadal asked for privacy when it came to his and Xisca’s family.

“If everything goes well, I’m going to be a father. I’m not used to talking about my private life. We live more peacefully with a lower profile. I don’t expect that my life will change much with it,” he said.


Perello was reportedly seen wearing loose-fitting clothing with her husband at the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as during the final rounds of Nadal’s triumph at the French Open.


She was also reportedly seen with a noticeable baby bump as she holidayed with Nadal on their yacht in Mallorca this week.


On other happy Nadal news for tennis fans, he said the progress on his chronically sore left foot had been positive in the weeks following Roland Garros.


After requiring an unspecified number of painkilling injections througout the French Open, Nadal later admitted his foot had been all but numb during the final against Capser Ruud.